When it comes to the summer shopping, Boro should be looking for two full-backs.

As the dust settles on a frustrating season and a seventh place finish the Boro big wigs will be drawing up their plans for a rebuild.

And among their top priorities should be to urgently address the pressing issue of the full-back slots on both flanks.

They have been problem positions for years now.

And if Boro are to go into the next campaign well balanced and potent, the problem must be resolved.

A problem on the left

George Friend has been Boro’s only senior specialist left-back for almost the whole of the season.

On-loan Sam McQueen showed flashes in his cameos but was crocked and returned to Southampton leaving veteran George alone.

The problem wasn’t addressed in the January transfer window leaving Friend and Boro hostage to fortune.

George Friend surges forward against Reading

It has been a long hard season and a high-tempo, high-impact and high-mileage wing-back role has taken its toll on Friend.

The fans’ favourite has been fraying at the edges in the second half of the season and carrying a lot of bumps and bruises.

And at times he was left chasing in the wake of a speedy winger zipping down his vacant channel on the counter.

The season finished with George Saville playing as an uncomfortable makeshift wing-back with none of the experience, positional discipline of spatial awareness that comes with playing there as a specialist.

It left Boro creaky and often exposed in a key area of the pitch and at times they paid the price.

Initially after Friend’s injury Tony Pulis planned to move right sided centre-back Dael Fry over as cover, which would have been far from ideal.

But it is not a new problem. George has been crying out for cover and competition for years.

Over the past few seasons he has ooften been patched up and sent out to play through the pain barrier for lack of a stand-in.

George Friend wearing a mask to protect his broken nose

Even under Aitor Karanka the issue was bubbling away and when he was injured or suspended Ben Gibson would shuffle across, and while the Teesside tackler was solid there he was not a specialist and it weakened the central unit too.

Briefly, under Garry Monk, Fabio was played as a left-back but while he was lively going forward and made cavalier over-laps he left vulnerable empty acres behind that were ruthlessly exploited, one of the key reasons the manager’s short-lived reign unravelled.

Left back is a priority position for the summer revamp.

A problem on the right

There is a similar problem on the right, although not as acute. There are more options to patch it up.

Ryan Shotton - nominally a centre-back - was moved to that slot by Tony Pulis after he quickly decided that Cyrus Christie, as with Fabio, was great going forward but fragile to counter-attacks.

Shotton brought extra height, solidity and discipline. And, in the first season at least, his throws were a serious weapon.

As a defensive right-back he is solid enough but he doesn’t have the pace to play the more attacking modern full-back role, and chances are Boro will be rewired in that fashion over the summer.

And again, there has been no specialist cover or competition for him, leaving Boro to fudge it when he was crocked.

Fry was used with some success but it is not his natural role and ideally he should be honing his arts in the middle.

And while Fry can busk it as a full-back, Boro have more often played with five this term and the young defender is not a wing-back, although he did put in a couple of delicious crosses after surging down the flank.

Jonny Howson was drafted in to the role and seemed to relish the challenge but is not a specialist and it showed at times when Boro were pegged back and under pressure.

Paddy McNair has played right-back for Northern Ireland but sees himself primarily as an attacking midfielder. That may well be true but we haven’t seen enough to judge him in either role.

So the question of the role on the right needs to be addressed too.

Full back is a key position

If Boro are going to be re-engineered as an attacking team, quick full-backs who can get up the pitch and deliver crosses are essential.

Whether as a four or five at the back, the wide roles are increasingly important in the modern game.

Ryan Shotton is tackled by Hull's Chris Martin

Well engineered wing-backs allow the players ahead to play more centrally in support of the attack.

That creates space for the to get at the opposition full-back in a one-on-one situation but in transition they need to get back quickly and track a wideman on the counter.

There are huge physical demands in the role and with the best will in the world Boro’s current pair don’t have the engines to do it properly.

Even in a four, modern full-backs are playing a far more attacking role, either over-lapping when wide players cut in, or sometimes under-lapping, curving through midfield to join the attack more centrally.

Again the physical and technical demands are huge and the Boro duo don’t have all the right tools for that.

Boro need to bring in young, pacy specialists. That should be central to he rebuild, not an after-thought.

Where next for Friend and Shotton?

So what about Friend and Shotton? Are they surplus to requirements? I don’t think so.

Both are solid, experienced pros who have shown they can still cut it in this division.

At times, especially in the August switch to a five, they were among Boro’s most consistent and potent players.

Shotton drove forward, showed some neat touches and whipped in some very testing crosses but struggled to get back to his best after injuries. He can still do a job. But maybe not as first choice.

George matches that on the left and his piston-armed surging runs and scything dribbles into the box have been one of Boro’s chief outlets. He can still do a job too. Although maybe not as a first choice wing-back in an attacking set-up.

George Friend celebrates at Reading

You can see him as part of the central defensive unit though. He has the physicality, nous and ability to do that.

And his years in the role would make him brilliant cover and mentor for a shiny new left-back.

George has the drive and steely mentality that feeds into a strong squad ethic and the intelligence and leadership to be a key figure.

He can be an elder statesman and a key part of the ‘cultural furniture’ of a new dressing room.